The Roof is on Fire (12 page)

“What about me?”

“What about you?”

“Do you still love me?”

Without answering, I hung up, mad as hell. Vanessa called back, and I had to quickly answer the phone so Jeff wouldn't hear it ring.

“This phone does not belong to me, so please do not use this number again.”

“That's cool, but you had no business hangin' up on me. All I asked was a question. If you ain't man enough to answer it, then don't.”

“Here's your answer. No, I don't. Now are you satisfied?”

“I'm not, because I don't believe you. Anyways, I went to holla at the fellas at your shop the other day. My car was leakin' some oil and Romo fixed it for me. They talked about how much they missed you around there, but them niggas were clownin.' You may want to hurry home. There were a lot of unhappy customers gripin' about how long they had to wait. You didn't get yo information from me, but you know I always got yo back, right?”

“So you say. And thanks for the info. You know I appreciate it.”

“You'd better.”

I told Vanessa that I had to go. The news about my business had me worried, so I glanced at the workout room to see what Jeff was doing. He was still running his mouth, so I rushed to call Craig to find out what was up.

“You've reached Roc's Place, and unfortunately, there is no sane person here to take your call,” Craig said in a proper voice, laughing.
“Naw, I'm just playin'. What up? This Craig. How can I help you?”

I didn't think a damn thing was funny. “Yeah, you can help me by gettin' yo shit together and stop playin' around. What's this I hear about some of my customers bein' angry because service is shitty?”

Craig cleared his throat. “What's up, Boss? I don't know where you got yo info from, but since you've been gone, I only had one customer complaint. You know how these people do it around here, and that chick was mad because she didn't want to pay what I told her she had to.”

I looked up and could see Jeff coming my way. “I need to make this quick. When I get back, and it will be soon, there betta not be no bullshit goin' on. If there is, nobody will get paid, and I mean that shit. Tell my niggas I said what's up, and stop answerin' my phone like a damn idiot. Keep it professional, a'ight?”

“No problem, Boss. See you soon.”

I ended the call and reached out to give Jeff his phone. “I had to make another call, pertain' to my business. It was urgent, and I hope there won't be no problem.”

Jeff said everything was good. We stood around yakking for a while, then he left. I was swoll about my conversation with Desa Rae. Even though she didn't know it, she was damn sure on my shit list. So was Craig. I already knew there would be a lot of ass kickings to deliver whenever I got on my turf, and after those phone calls, I was anxious to get home and see what was really up.

Thanks to Prince leaving his blow behind, Roc was around here getting high as the sky. Then again, so was I. Every time I saw him hemmed up somewhere, I joined right in with him.

I guess I couldn't help myself. Being in this house was starting to work my nerves. Everybody had issues, and I was doing my best to watch my back. That was how I managed to see Chase creeping that night. She thought I had gone to bed, but I saw her go into the bathroom and change clothes. Then I saw her tiptoeing outside, so I followed her. When I saw her standing beside the workout room, I squinted and saw Jeff out there too. Something didn't add up to me. I wasn't up for no trickery shit between the two of them, and it was apparent that something fishy was going on.

The day after that one, I caught up with Chase outside, where I teased her about having jungle fever. Her eyes widened like saucers. She damn near choked, but I gave her a hint that I knew what was up.

Since then, she'd been extremely nice to me. She kept asking questions, trying to see if I was going to tell her what I saw. I planned on telling her, but not until I was ready.

After a few more hits from a joint, I was ready to confront Chase. Roc and I was in the closet laughing and acting silly. When I pushed him backward, he fell into one of the shelves, knocking it down.

“Damn, girl,” he said, giggling. “Stop ruffin' me up. You don't need to smoke no more of dis' shit if it got you wantin' to throw punches.”

“Stop bein' such a wimp and pick that shelf up. You got my stuff on the floor, and you know Jaylin gon' come in here clownin' when he see his stuff scattered.”

“Buck that nigga. I'm not pickin' that shelf up, 'cause yo ass the one who made me do it.”

“Hold that thought, baby. I'll be right back.”

Roc laughed as I left the closet, knowing damn well that I wasn't coming back anytime soon. I left the bedroom and caught up with Chase as she was sitting at the kitchen table with Jaylin, putting together a puzzle.

“Hey, Jaylin,” I said. “Roc said that he needed some help with a shelf in the closet that fell down. Go in there and help that brotha. Please.”

“You look messed up, Jada,” he said. “Y'all need to chill with smoking weed every day.”

“Daddy, the bag is almost gone, so don't worry your fine li'l self about me. Just gon' in there and help Roc, before he breaks somethin' else.”

Jaylin left the kitchen in a hurry. Probably because he didn't want nobody to damage his stuff. I sat at the table across from Chase and picked up a puzzle piece.

“This looks like a hard-ass puzzle to put together. How many pieces is it?”

“Twenty-five-hundred pieces. Jaylin seems to think that we can have this put together by the end of the day. But as you can see, that's not going to happen.”

“I can bet you some money that it ain't goin' to happen. I will also bet you that you won't be the last person in this house, especially if I go tell Jaylin and Roc about what I saw the other night.”

Chase's brows shot up. She swallowed and slowly laid her puzzle piece on the table. She then turned her head, looking toward the bedroom. “Wha…what did you exactly see the other night?”

“You know what I saw. Or do you prefer that I spell it out for you?”

“You're going to have to spell it out for me. I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Chase, don't play stupid with me. You cool and everything, but I hate for people to play me like I'm stupid. Why don't you go ahead and tell me what's really goin' on with you and Jeff? Is this some kind of game, and are you tryin' to set us up so that you'll win, no matter what? I need some answers or else I'mma blow this whole thing wide open.”

Chase looked over her shoulder again at the bedroom door. She stood up from the table. “Come on and go outside with me. I don't want to talk in here.”

I shook my head from side to side. “No, no ma'am. Unfortunately, I'm not goin' anywhere but right here. You may try to push me into the water and drown me, especially since I know what I know.”

“I'm not a killer, nor am I here to hurt anyone. You need to lay off that weed. It has you very paranoid. Just trust me on this. Come outside for a few minutes. Please.”

I hesitated, but then I got up from the table. If Chase tried some slick shit, I was going to knock her clean up side her head. Before I went outside with her, I snatched a broom from the closet and grabbed some chips to help with my munchies.

Chase laughed and threw her hand back at me.

“Bitch, I don't see nothin' funny. I really don't trust you, and I'mma always do what I got to do to protect myself.”

She put her hand on her hip. “With a broom, Jada? What in the hell is a broom supposed to do?”

We went outside and sat close by the door. “You must ain't never
been a disobedient child growin' up. ‘Cause if you were, you would know exactly how much damage a broom can do. Don't underestimate the power of it.”

“Okay, I won't, especially since you got a tight grip on it. When it comes to being a disobedient child, trust me when I say I was one. I had every reason to be one, because my mother betrayed me and my father sexually abused me. I hated the both of them, but that was then and this is now.”

“I'm sorry to hear that, but what does that have to do with what's goin' on right now?”

“Not much. Then again, I just learned that there may be something very fascinating about my past that's going to help me win this challenge.”

There was something real wicked in Chase's eyes. Almost scary, in a sense, so I had to see what was up. “We already know that you ain't got it all upstairs, Chase, but you need to seriously let go of the bitterness inside of you. I don't really care about your troubles as a kid. I came out here to find out what was up with you and that white boy.”

Chase appeared irritated by my comment. She crossed her legs and clamped her hands together. “Okay, Jada. I was going to spill the truth to you at a later date, but since you're forcing this out of me now, I guess I have no choice but to spill the beans. But please understand that I can't tell you everything right now, because I need to get the facts. Some secrets have to wait until later.”

“Girl, you are startin' to work my nerves. Would you please get to the point?”

Chase paused, then released a deep sigh. “I found a way to get Jaylin and Roc out of this house. In order for me to do it, I had to get to know more about their personal lives and backgrounds. So
what I did was I started to make a connection with Jeff through email. I flirted with him and told him I was interested in us hooking up. He fell for it. On three occasions, he came to see me while everyone was asleep. During his visits, yes, sometimes we had sex, but I also asked him for information about Roc and Jaylin. Jeff gave it to me. Just by having their personal information, I'm in a position to share some things with their loved ones that may cause harm. I'm hoping that the information that I share will send them packing.”

“Oooo, you are so darn sneaky. But if you got information on them, I know you got some stuff on me.”

“Just a little stuff, but none of that matters.”

My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe that she had found out some stuff about me. “If it don't matter to you, it surely matters to me. Tell me what you found out or else I start talkin' right now.”

Chase exhaled. “Okay, Jada. I said none of this matters, but I do know that you were locked up for thirty days for shoplifting. I also know that you have several assault charges on your police record and that you live in a Section 8 apartment complex. You don't have a great relationship with your mother, father abandoned you, and you don't have any children. Your husband has a long criminal record, but it appears that many of the other men you've dated have criminal records too. You haven't had a stable job since the 90s, and you currently have a warrant out for your arrest for two unpaid traffic tickets. You didn't graduate from high school and when you lived in Los Angeles—”

“Okay, stop right there,” I said with my mouth hanging wide open. I couldn't even express how I felt, but I was damn sure mad about this bitch digging into my background. There was no doubt that she was right on the money. “I didn't hear you mention my
social security number, blood type, or what size drawers I wear. You also didn't mention how many times I go to the library or what grocery store I normally shop at. You have violated my privacy. I'm gon' have to check the hell out of you and Jeff for oversteppin' y'all's bounties.”

“Jada, please listen to what I'm saying to you. The word is
boundaries,
not bounties. But none of that matters. When we win this challenge, you can take the money to clear those warrants. You can move out of your Section 8 apartment and go live happily ever after. We've all got ugly things in our past, but this is about your future. Don't blow it, okay?”

I thought about what she'd said. Maybe I was overreacting. “Just so you know, that Section 8 apartment costs me $225 a month and my friend's name is on it, not mine. And those traffic tickets were because I let a no-good fool use my car. He was the one who got those tickets. We all shoplift from time to time, but I happened to get caught up that day. And as for my associates' criminal records, that's on them, not me.”

“Thanks for telling me, but I don't care. What I care about is winning this thing so we can have some money.”

“Let's be real here. A hundred thousand, divided by two, that ain't really what I consider my ticket out of the ghetto. It will help, though, but what exactly do you need me to do? Just so you know, I'm not fuckin' nobody unless I want to. And I'm not killin' nobody either.”

“I'm not asking you to do anything of the such. All I may need, right now, is for you to get some explicit pictures for me. Good pictures of me and Roc, and of me and Jaylin. I'm going to start turning up the heat on both of them. I need for you to catch the action.”